Robin Wright and Kevin Spacey struggled with smoking scenes while making drama series House Of Cards because they were both trying to quit the habit for real.

The actress reveals she spent years as a "light smoker" but recently decided to give up, and she admits the scenes of her lighting up in the political drama tested her willpower.

She tells the London Evening Standard newspaper, "I've been a light smoker my whole life. One or two a night. Put the kids to bed, check the email, have one or two. On a Saturday night, it was a big blowout - have three glasses of champagne, smoke 10 cigarettes. But it increased with age, so I quit a few months ago."

Spacey, who plays her onscreen husband in the show, also recently gave up the habit, so they both had issues with the show's smoking scenes.

Wright adds, "We have these herbal cigarettes, and they are so vile - I have to be statuesque while dry-heaving... Maybe they'll (the characters will) quit on the show..."